NASAL OBSTRUCTION IN THE ADULT: A QUANTITATIVE STUDY

Abstract

While the physician is frequently called on to treat nasal obstruction, the routine procedure has been to determine the amount of obstruction and the result of treatment entirely by empirical methods. Various observers¹have recognized the need of a quantitative basis for the study of nasal obstruction and have sought to measure the resistance to air flow through the nasal passages during inspiration and expiration with the patient breathing at different rates. However, the methods employed failed to eliminate the variable elements introduced by the subject. The procedures were time consuming and did not attain widespread clinical use. The present study, therefore, was undertaken to measure nasal obstruction by gaging the resistance encountered by air drawn through the nasal chamber, independent of nasal breathing. For this purpose a simple apparatus and a practical office procedure were devised.²The present paper is concerned with a description of the method of study,